


Coping

by Grey (grey853)



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst, Drama, M/M, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 04:23:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/793936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grey853/pseuds/Grey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim can't sleep and Blair helps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coping

**Author's Note:**

> First in the Coping Series.

## Coping

by Grey

Author's webpage: <http://grey.ravenshadow.net/>

* * *

Title: Coping  
Author: Grey  
Email address: Grey853@aol.com  
Rating: NC-17  
Pairing: J/B  
Status: New, Complete  
Date: March 22, 1998  
Archive: Yes, to both sites  
Series: Yes  
Other Website: <http://grey.ravenshadow.net/>

* * *

Disclaimer: These guys don't belong to me or any other fan, but that doesn't keep us from making up stuff. 

Summary: Jim can't sleep and Blair comes to the rescue. 

Spoiler Warnings: Spoilers for "Remembrance" and "Love Kills". 

Coping  
by Grey 

The damn tapping had no rhythm. Stop and start and then the pages would turn and there'd be more tapping. Jim Ellison rolled over, rubbed his head for the hundredth time. Inside his skull tiny spikes of pain paraded around jabbing and slicing through his brain. The white noise generator didn't work and his dials were spinning all over the place. Pulling himself up, he swung his legs to the side of the bed and leaned forward, resting his throbbing forehead against his palms. He'd already taken four aspirin a few hours ago, but he needed more. Nothing blocked the pain and now Sandburg had apparently decided to pull an all-nighter. Shit. 

He stood up, grabbed his robe, and headed downstairs. His voice roared. "Chief, what the hell are you doing?" 

Blair glanced up from his typing, surprised by the interruption and his friend's angry tone. "Jim, what are you doing up?" 

"Good question. Ask yourself the same one. It's after 3 and you haven't been to bed." 

"So?" 

"So, why not? Jesus. We've got a meeting with Simon at nine and I haven't even had an hours sleep yet. You won't stop typing and turn off the fucking lights." 

Blair studied his partner with concern as he took off his glasses. "Jim, what's wrong?"  
The older man sank down to the couch, still rubbing his eyes, the light tearing at the tissue like dirty fingers. All the sounds around him echoed and sounded windy in his ears. "Nothing." 

"Nothing? Come on, Jim. What's going on?" 

"My head hurts and I can't sleep." 

Stepping over to sit beside him, Blair placed a reassuring hand on his friend's slumped shoulders. "Did you try the ear plugs?" 

"I tried everything. I've taken so much aspirin I should be numb. Nothing works. I can hear every little peck on that damn laptop and the light flashes like fireworks." 

"Are you sick to your stomach?" 

"No, but it's like my whole body is on overload here. You've got to do something." 

"Okay, hold on a minute. Let me think." 

"Listen, Chief. If you'd just go to bed, maybe I could get some sleep." 

Blair shook his head. His hand still rested on his Jim's shoulder. He didn't need enhanced senses to feel the incredibly tense knots in the broad muscles. "You just need to relax." 

"Relax? Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say. It's not you having all kinds of sensory spikes." 

"I thought those were over after Lila." He saw the involuntary flinch at the name. "Jim, tell me what exactly is happening here." 

Shaking his head, the larger man stood and walked over to stare out the window. City lamps blinked and he could see as clearly as if it were daylight. Empty streets and rain played back and complemented his mood. Every splatter against glass grated inside his tender ears, sending shivers into his throat. 

"I don't know what's going on, Chief. This whole business with Lila and my Dad. I just don't know. It's thrown me for a loop, I guess. It's like I said before, there's this huge practical joke going on and I'm the main fool. I've got no idea what to do about any of it." 

Remaining on the sofa, Blair leaned back and watched the nervous shifting. "It's the middle of the night, Jim. This is probably not the time to tackle those big old hairy deals. What we can do is try to get you relaxed enough to get some sleep. Then maybe in the morning when you're rested, we can talk about some of that." 

"What's there to talk about?" 

"Jim, you've had two major cases dealing with severe repression. I'm not talking about losing memories about minor details. I'm talking full blown I can't remember without pain episodes. I'm not a psychologist, but I know enough to understand you've suffered some huge traumas in your life. Right now they seem to be exploding in your face all at once. You're probably wired because your favorite coping mechanism's gone haywire and you're exposed to all this old material in a new way." 

"Coping mechanism?" 

"Yeah, you know, how you deal with something you really don't want to deal with. Like the way you blanked out the fact that you found Bud's body or how you didn't want to remember that knife in Lila's purse. Jim, you actually repressed your sentinel ability for years until you got to Peru. Repression's your middle name." 

Jim wandered over to the couch and sat down. He picked up a pillow, hugging it to his midsection, before he leaned forward and closed his eyes. "I'm really tired, Chief. I need to sleep. I can't do that unless you go to sleep, too." 

Puzzled, Blair asked, "What are you talking about?" 

Shrugging, Jim tightened his grip on the defenseless pillow. "I can't sleep when you're awake down here." 

"Since when?" 

"Since you moved in. Usually you go to sleep around one or two a.m. Before that I just sort of listen to you work. Then when you finally go to sleep, I do, too." 

Blair shook his head and argued, "But, Jim, what about when I stay out all night?" 

"You don't do that much." 

"But I do it sometimes. What do you do then?" 

"Well, unless you're in another city, I can usually hear your heartbeat no matter where you are." 

Blair stood up in shock. "What?" 

"I said I can hear your heart no matter where you are." 

"You're kidding?" 

"No. Even when Lila was here, I listened. You didn't sleep much and neither did I. Maybe that's why I still had a terrible headache after she left." 

The pacing moved the air in front of him and Jim scrunched his face with more pain. "Chief, please sit back down. It hurts when you do that." 

Blair took pity on his friend and sat quietly while he tried to analyze this new development. He spoke softly, his voice smooth and soothing like hot honey in whiskey. "Jim, I know you're hearing's always been your greatest asset, but do you have any idea how cool this is? I mean, you're saying you can hear MY heartbeat miles away. This is absolutely amazing." 

Too tired to speak clearly, Jim's tongue tripped over his words. "Yeah, amazing, Chief." 

"Jim, don't you know what this means?" 

"What?" 

"Your abilities are even greater than we imagined." 

"Blair, at this point I don't care about that. I just want the headaches and the sensory spikes to stop. Could you help me out here just a little?" 

Still energized, he nodded. "Okay, I know what we can do. Why don't we go upstairs and you can lie down. I'll sit beside you so you don't have to strain anything. I'll just sit there and meditate or something." 

"Why can't you just go to bed like normal people, Chief?" 

Blair smiled at his friend's complaint. He stood and took Jim's arm and guided him up the stairs, his concern returning when he caught the larger man in a stumble. "Whoa, man. Hold on there. There is like no way I could catch you if you decided to go down the hard way. Now, stick with me until we can get you into the bed, okay?" 

"Okay." 

Jim's weak voice sent chills to Blair's gut. He went to the edge of the bed, pulling back the covers and fluffing up the pillows. "Jim? I want you to lie down now. Can you do that for me?" 

"Sure, Chief. No problem." The sentinel sat down hard and then lay back. Blair lifted Jim's legs off the floor and then pulled up the covers. Instead of sitting in the nearby chair, he scooted along the edge and positioned himself against the headboard. 

Jim's eyes opened and he looked over. "What are you doing now?" 

"Well, I just thought I'd sit here awhile so you can listen to my heart. If I get too sleepy, I'll stretch out here if that's okay." 

"Sure, I guess, if it wouldn't bother you." 

"Why should it bother me, Jim? You're not going to try to put a move on are you?" 

Blair spoke with a teasing smile, but his lips dropped to a frown when he saw Jim's face darken with a deep blush. Even in the low light he could see his friend turn away in embarrassment. 

"Jesus, Jim. Is that what this is all about? You're attracted to me?" 

"I'm tired, Sandburg. I don't want to talk nonsense in the middle of the night." 

"Don't Sandburg me, Jim. And don't tell me it's nonsense. Who do you think you're fooling now?" 

"Please, Blair. I just want to get some sleep and maybe get rid of this headache before my brain explodes. Is that too much to ask?" 

"And you listening to my heartbeat will help you do that?" 

"Yeah. It has before." 

"I'll bet." 

Groaning, Jim pushed himself up, shook his head to clear his focus, and settled in front of his best friend. "Okay, tell me what you're thinking." 

Dark blue eyes locked onto ice. "I'm thinking you're a real asshole sometimes and that if I'd had any idea that you'd wanted me, Samantha would never have had a shot at those orchids. Hell, why would you fuck Lila instead of me?" 

"I didn't fuck Lila, Chief." 

"You didn't? It sure looked like a morning after scenario to me." 

"I didn't say we didn't sleep together. I just didn't fuck her. I don't fuck people I care about. And regardless of the fact that she turned out to be a really huge mistake, I did care about her. She was a happy memory for me, and I fell into that trap of wanting to be happy again. I thought she could do that." 

"But she didn't?" 

"No, not hardly." Jim face twitched again and he grabbed the side of his head. "Man, this is getting to be really old." 

Reaching over, Blair placed a palm on each of Jim's temples and gently began to move his fingers in tiny circles. "Close your eyes and just lean back. Try to relax and breathe like I showed you before." 

Following his guides instructions, Jim relished the fiery touch at his face. Tight waves of energy smoothed through his forehead, and even as he started taking long slow breaths, he could feel the ache slipping away. Blair's touch flashed magic across the armies of pain, banishing them to some other dark kingdom. 

"That's the way, Jim. Just ease all the strain way. Breathe for me." Lying there with his best friend now massaging his cheekbones, running his hands along his neck and across his shoulders, the sentinel relaxed for the first time in weeks. Floating shadows lightened and the heavy fear lurking in his gut sprang out and disappeared, fading into foggy air. 

"That's it, man. Just rest." A sudden silky heat touched his lips and Jim let a tongue sneak inside to wrestle and play with his own. The moist fire flicked against his teeth and his gums. Swallowing hard, he let his guide press harder against him. 

Thighs spread as Blair shifted and lay across him, his legs between Jim's. The heady scent of musk mixed with sweat, and Jim reached down to find his friend's erect cock still captive in his jeans. "Get out of those, Chief. I want you naked." 

"Damn bossy sentinel." The teasing voice whispered in his ear while Blair sat up and stripped in record speed. Bouncing back fast, he stretched himself wickedly across Jim's exposed flesh. Eagerly he spied a nipple and lowered his mouth for the kill. The grainy nub hardened quickly and Blair switched to the other side. He licked greedily and then slicked his tongue all down the center of Jim's chest. Nibbling tiny bites, he nipped with each of Jim's groans. When he reached the head of the leaking cock, he opened wide enough to engulf the crown while craddling the balls in one hand. 

Jim gasped and suddenly arched up, thigh muscles frozen in mid-air. Grabbing Blair's hair he locked his fingers in curls, while the young man gulped away, bobbing his head and lightly scraping the underside with his teeth. Huge flashes of red and blue blasted behind lids. Roaring waves of heated air battered against eardrums and a firestorm of raging blood fried his brain. Twirls of almost-pain grabbed and clenched stomach muscles close to rupture while a fountain flooded past the cushion of swollen, sucking lips. 

The world vibrated with the rhythm of Blair's heart. Hands stroked hips and chest, then Jim opened his eyes again to have his young lover draped like a comforter all across his body, heart to heart. Jim reached around and gripped the round ass and pulled him closer. He gently kissed the top of dark brown curls. "You're going to kill me with this stuff, Chief." 

Words tickled his chest. "But is your headache gone?" 

"All gone." 

"You think you can sleep now?" 

"Oh, man, you bet." 

"And can you hear my heartbeat?" 

Briefly Jim paused and heard the comfort he'd been waiting for. Blair's heartbeat locked to his, the cadence of love at his breast, music of his best friend's life forever entwined with his. "Oh, yeah, Chief. Oh, yeah. Loud and clear." 

"Then go to sleep." 

"Anything you say, Chief." 

"About time you figured that out." 

The End 


End file.
